GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Davenport University will offer up to three semesters of free classes and career guidance for accounting students who fail to land a job six months after graduation, under a program announced Wednesday.

Richard PappasMLive

The pilot program, which administrators have dubbed an employment guarantee, is Davenport’s way of standing behind its programs and showing that “accountability is more than just words,” said President Richard Pappas.

“It’s a backing up of what we believe are excellent programs at Davenport University,” he said. “This just shows that we have confidence in our faculty and in our curriculum, and we know that the jobs are there but we need to have our students as competitive as possible.”

Requirements of Davenport University's employment guarantee program

Graduate Criteria:

To be eligible to receive the benefits of Davenport University's Employment Guarantee, graduates must:

• Achieved a final GPA of 3.00 or better within their major and overall, and have completed program within 6 years of start.

• Be legally eligible for employment in the U.S.

• Be willing to travel or relocate to new market (w/ health and disability considerations) to obtain employment within field

• Have a documented job search beginning no later than 2 semesters prior to graduation which includes no less than 50 customized resumes and cover letters spanning geographic markets and industry sectors.

• Not have a criminal background, which prevents employment within chosen field.

• Be in good financial standing with DU.

• Have successfully completed an internship, on/off-campus work study employment, or employment consisting of a minimum of 150 hours relative to chosen field.

• Have demonstrated participation in two (2) years or four (4) semesters of regular involvement in at least one significant on- or off-campus extracurricular activity such as a pre-professional or professional society, a registered student organization (RSO), DU varsity, club or intramural athletics, or other qualified and Career Services-approved volunteer activities.

• Have worked directly with Career Services within two (2) semesters of attending Davenport University and have actively pursued and demonstrated competency in the Career Services Professional Development Plan Checklist.

• Have completed the application for Employment Guarantee between six months and one year of graduation date if graduate has not obtained employment nor has entered a graduate degree program

Source: Davenport University

The program is heavy on details.

To participate, students must sign an agreement and meet 10 detailed requirements, which include graduating with a 3.0 GPA, completing an internship and conducting an extensive job search.

One requirement, for instance, requires students to start their job search no later than two semesters prior to graduation. Students would also be required to show that they’ve sent resumes and cover letters to at least 50 employers “spanning geographic markets and industry sectors.”

Students unable to find a job in Michigan would be expected to look in neighboring states before qualifying for the additional education.

“We’re not talking about going to Alaska or some other place, but often you have to travel a little ways to find the kind of employment that you want,” Pappas said.

Accounting is Davenport’s second largest program, and administrators said they would consider extending the guarantee to other programs pending the results of the pilot program. Pappas declined to say what other programs the university was considering.

The program launches along with fall classes, which kick-off next month. Davenport has campuses across Michigan, including Caledonia Township, Kalamazoo and Lansing.

Job guarantees are rare, but not unheard of, in higher education. One program is at Thomas College in Waterville, Maine. It requires, among other things, that students earn a 3.0 GPA, complete an internship and maintain an updated resume.

Davenport’s agreement comes at a time when scrutiny over college affordability, student debt and a difficult job market has caused some Americans to debate the value of a college degree.

Administrators said the guarantee program is one step they can take to be more accountable to students who use their hard-earned dollars to finance their education and expect a job upon graduation.

“This is not a gimmick,” Pappas said. “This is Davenport putting its money where its mouth is.”

But if students were unable to find a job with their existing Davenport degree, is more education from Davenport the answer?

Davenport University commitment:

For students who have achieved the standards of this agreement and are not employed within six (6) months of graduation, Davenport University will offer any and all of the following items based on an assessment of student need:

• Evaluation of student development areas and creation of an action plan to address those areas.

• Up to three (3) semesters of undergraduate courses not to exceed 16 credits per semester to enhance the existing degree in the student’s chosen field, which covers the cost of tuition up to the maximum of 16 credits (a value of $28,900 based upon 2014 tuition rates) and does not include the cost of textbooks, course fees, residence hall or living accommodations, or fees for taking certification tests.

• Continued engagement in on-campus and off-campus recruiting opportunities relative to the student’s professional area.

Source: Davenport University

Shelley Lowe, executive director of career services at Davenport, said a few extra classes may give students the boost they need.

Administrators said it’s not feasible to offer a money-back guarantee, considering tuition revenue is used to pay the salaries of instructors and other operational expenses. Plus, the idea behind the guarantee is to help students get a job, something a cash-back offer wouldn’t do, Pappas said.

“I think right now it’s the curriculum – trying to rearrange that to get another job,” Pappas said, adding the concept of offering students their money back “wouldn’t help them get another job.”

Pappas said the program will also help the university to create programs that best meet the needs of employers. Administrators, for instance, will amend programs if graduates show a pattern of coming back to the university to learn a particular skill.

“It also allows us to improve in a certain area,” he said. “We may learn something, that there’s greater emphasis in accounting in this particular area.”

Brian McVicar covers education for MLive and The Grand Rapids Press. Email him at bmcvicar@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter